Chapter 2 - Manic Monday

Lucifer had merely been rattling the toy box, trying to have a little fun by shaking a few things loose. He knew that the Angels and their little band of do-gooders were up to something, but he didn't know exactly what that could be. Mark had reported that Luke had hinted around that Castiel and Gail had been sniffing around the veil, and even though Luke claimed he had no idea if they'd been successful in reaching anyone in the Netherworld, if they were trying to speak with Luke, he'd told Mark that he might just consider talking to them.

Luke had no intention of talking to their Father's favourite Son and his little girlfriend, of course; he was just yanking Lucifer's chain. And truth be told, Lucifer wasn't really worried about Luke spilling his dried-up old guts to the two Angels. But then, why were they trying to pierce the veil? What exactly did they know?

So Lucifer had asked Rowena to get out her bag of tricks, and he had told her that the next time any of them ventured out of the bunker, he wanted to know who they were with, and what they were doing. She had seen them with her son, and then the Angels had gone back into the bunker, and now Castiel was with the human called Tommy, at the high-rise building that held the newspaper office where Tommy worked.

Rowena reported this latest development to Lucifer, and his brow furrowed. Castiel was doing research, obviously. But on what, specifically? Rowena hadn't been able to hear any of their conversation. Lucifer seethed. What use was that to him? But he had been reluctant to express his frustration to Rowena, because he thought she could be of great use to him in the future. She was the only one who could see Castiel now, and Crowley, and Gail. They were all shielded to him. But she had to go on believing that being in Lucifer's service was her idea, and her choice. These women and their headstrong ways, Lucifer thought indulgently. For untold centuries, males had been the ones in charge, and certain females were looking to change that status quo, from what he could see. But as far as Lucifer was concerned, Rowena and Gail were dreaming. It would be the Alpha Originals who would end up deciding things, as it always had been. Lucifer, Castiel, and Crowley. The Bad, the Good, and the...Which? Lucifer was convinced that Crowley didn't know himself at times which one he wanted to be. The King of Hell seemed to think he could play for both teams simultaneously. None of the three of them liked the others, but Lucifer had always believed that if push came to shove, the King of Hell would have no choice but to pick Lucifer's side. But Crowley was an odd duck, and it seemed to Lucifer that he had some kind of a peculiar notion that Castiel and Gail would accept him as family going forward if he were to help them now. Wait till he found out the cold, hard truth. It wouldn't be the first time they had stabbed Crowley in the back, and it wouldn't be the last. It was inconvenient for Lucifer to have Crowley allied with the Angels, so he had tried to create a rift between them when he'd had Paul kidnap Castiel. Surely the Angels would blame Crowley for his servant's behaviour. But as it had turned out, Crowley had ridden in there on his black horse to help Team Purity get their Angels back, and even though Lucifer had snapped Linda Tran's neck in a fit of pique, no lasting harm had befallen any of the others. Lucifer had thought for sure that Crowley would have just allowed the Angels to be killed there, or even that he would join in and assist Lucifer in their murders, once he'd had them incapacitated. But Crowley was clinging on to his faint hope at the moment, and if Lucifer was going to create trouble there, he would have to try harder.

But for now, he just wanted to send a bit of a message. So he clapped his hands together once, and the sound was very loud. Then he slid the palms of his hands against each other, concentrating, shifting the tectonic plates. Vancouver would feel it, all right. Then he sent out the eye and found the apartment building where the Sons of Sodom lived. Not that Lucifer was judging, of course. The humans could be as gay as they wanted to be. Far be it from him. But they were aligning themselves with Castiel against Lucifer, and they needed to be shown that there would be consequences that came from that kind of decision.

Lucifer found Barry and Tommy's apartment building, shifted his palms against each other again, hard, and the building collapsed.

"Oh, my God," Tommy said. He and Cas felt the second shock, and they saw a high-rise building collapse a few blocks down from where they were standing. "I think that's our building, Cas," he said, panicked. He clutched at Cas, and Cas winked them over there.

The building lay in smoldering ruins, and Tommy stared at the rubble, open-mouthed. Cas was looking around. Every other building in sight remained standing. Oh, this was Lucifer all right, sending a very personal message. His heart hurt for his friends.

Tommy heaved a deep sigh. All their possessions. Everything they owned, gone. Just like that. Well, he'd been intending to talk to Barry about simplifying their lives and downsizing their possessions, anyway.

Cas sent a message to Gail. He was aware that they had been watching movies at the bunker, but just in case the news were to reach them somehow, he didn't want her to worry. He let her know that he and Tommy were fine, and that they would be there in a minute.

"Turn off the movie," Gail said suddenly, sitting up straight.

Barry had been dozing against her shoulder, and he slumped to the side, to where Frank had been dozing at her other side.

"Hey!" Frank exclaimed. "What the hell, Gail?"

"Turn on the news, Dean," Gail said tersely, ignoring her brother. "Cas just sent me a message. He said he and Tommy are fine, but there's been an earthquake in Vancouver."

"Oh, my God," Barry said, fully awake now.

Dean grabbed the remote and stopped the movie, and now he was looking for an international news station. "Was it only in Vancouver?" he asked her.

"I don't know, Dean," Gail said irritably. "That's why we're looking for a news station."

"Look for CNN," Sam told his brother. "If it was a big enough quake, it should be on there."

Jody was just entering the living room, with Robbie in tow. "I was just going to tell you guys," she said. "I heard the report on the car radio on the way over." She looked around the room. "Where's Cas, Gail?"

"He's still there, but he's fine," Gail said.

Then Dean found CNN, and the report came on. And then, the thought suddenly hit him: "Nicole!" Dean exclaimed.

Cas and Tommy popped into the library area then, and Gail and Barry jumped up from the couch and ran over to their respective partners.

Gail touched Cas's face. "We're fine, Gail," he told her, smiling at her concern. Then Cas glanced at Dean. "And you don't need to worry about Nicole. The entire production team flew out of Vancouver just after Frank and Jody's wedding. They're overseas right now."

Dean let out the breath he'd been holding as Gail hugged Cas tightly. Tommy was holding Barry just as tightly. "Cas took me over to our building, hon," Tommy said softly to Barry. "It's been destroyed."

"The whole building?" Barry asked him quietly, and Tommy nodded. "My God, those poor people," Barry said in a trembling voice. "I wonder how many of them died just because they happened to be home on a Sunday night."

Tommy was stricken. And the first thing he had thought about was their stupid possessions. Now he felt ashamed of himself.

"Cas, we've got to go there," Gail said. "Maybe we can help."

Cas thought about that. He would love to do something to help all of those poor people, but it never seemed to work out when he tried. Look at Haiti. Still, what kind of Angels would they be if they didn't at least try?

He grabbed her hand. "We'll see if there's anything we can do," he told Barry and Tommy.

"If you happen to see an old green-coloured photo album lying around, see if it's got pictures in it of me and Tommy," Barry said, trying to smile through his tears. "The other things were only possessions. That's about the only thing we had that means anything to me."

Cas and Gail vanished, and Tommy looked at Barry again. "I want you to quit the hotel, Barry. Please. I was going to ask you to do it anyway, and it's like this was a sign, or something. I want to spend more time with you, and we can live much simpler lives on what we've managed to save over the years. Just think, Barry. If one or the other of us had been home, or both of us, we'd be dead now. Life's too short. I don't want to be apart from you anymore."

The others in the room were watching the two men without comment. None of them found what Tommy was saying the least bit discomfiting. It may be two men saying the kinds of things they were all used to hearing Cas and Gail say, but the love was true in both instances, and Barry and Tommy were obviously two good guys.

Barry looked at the Winchesters. "Do you guys get regular cell phone service in here? I have an employer to call."

Cas and Gail were rooting around in the rubble of the building. There were rescue workers there as well, looking for survivors, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that there would be none.

The Angels' hearts were heavy. They knew that this was Lucifer's doing. Thank God that their friends had been with them at the time, but they had the feeling that Barry and Tommy had lost their home, and all these people had lost their lives, just because Lucifer had been trying to make a point.

"He knows that you have pierced the veil, or at least, that you have attempted to," Death said from behind them. "He feels a threat that he cannot quantify. Therefore, he lashes out, like a petulant child."

Castiel and Gail looked at him. This was becoming an all-too-common type of meeting.

"You're wasting your time here," Death said dourly. "There are no lives to save." He gave Gail a small bow. "However, if you were to look down, just to your left, you will see a certain green book that you may just be able to reach. Good luck in Egypt."

Then he disappeared into the rubble, and Gail looked down and to her left. Sure enough, there was a green binder down there, in a hole about three feet deep in the ground.

"I think I see it, Cas," Gail said excitedly. "And I think I can reach it." She laid on the ground on her stomach and reached into the hole. "I've almost got it," she told him. Her fingertips were brushing it now. "Stupid T-Rex arms!" she exclaimed in frustration. "Cas, can you come here and hold my legs, so I can go in just a little bit further?"

He shook his head, smiling slightly. She was so sweet to be making such an effort for their friends. But he knew how much their photos had meant to her, and he could see how determined she was to salvage Barry and Tommy's precious pictures.

Cas knelt down behind her and grasped her firmly by the legs. "I've got you," he said.

"Okay, just let me down a little - bit - more..." Gail grabbed the photo album with both hands, but the extra movement shifted the smoking rubble, and she felt the skin on her forearms burning. Ouch! She hissed in pain but kept a death grip on the photo album.

"Pull me up, Cas!" she yelled. He did so immediately, and she handed him the album. Then she looked at her arms. They had angry red burn marks on them, and blisters were already starting to form there. "Owww," Gail moaned. Tears sprang to her eyes.

Cas put the photo album down on the ground and gently took her by the hands. He ran his hand over her arms hopefully, but of course, he was unable to heal severe burns.

"Can you hold on for just a moment?" Cas said, his brow furrowed with concern.

The tears were flowing from her eyes now, but Gail was trying to suck it up and be brave. She nodded, unable to speak due to the pain. She knew he would take care of her.

Cas took his cell phone out of his pocket and called Dean. "Dean, I need you to call Crowley and invite him into the bunker," he told his friend. "Gail's been injured, and he's the only one of us who can heal this type of injury. Besides, I want him to check on the protections at the bunker again and reinforce them, if necessary."

Dean frowned, but he could tell it was Castiel the Angel talking now, and he knew that his friend wouldn't ask him to invite the King of Hell to come inside the bunker if it wasn't absolutely necessary. "OK, Cas," Dean said, and he called Crowley immediately once they'd hung up.

Cas arrived with Gail, and Crowley snapped himself in at almost exactly the same moment. Tommy and Barry jumped. They weren't used to all these sudden appearances.

Cas tossed the photo album to Tommy, who caught it neatly. "I hope there are some nice pictures in there," Cas said tersely. He eased Gail into one of the library chairs and looked at Crowley. "Can you please help with this?"

"Of course I can," Crowley said, and he hurried over to where Gail sat. He knelt down in front of her and took her arm by the wrist.

Barry rushed over to where they were. "I'm so sorry, Gail," he wailed, overcome with emotion. "I never meant that you should hurt yourself on our account!"

Crowley glared up at him. "You're in my light," he said curtly, and his eyes glowed red, sending Barry staggering backwards. Tommy put the photo album down on the table and caught Barry, arresting his backwards momentum. They both gaped at Crowley. What kind of an Angel was this guy?

Cas could see the men's' puzzlement out of the corner of his eye but making sure that Gail was no longer in pain was his priority right now. He stood still as Crowley ran his hand over one of Gail's arms, then the other. The red glow came out of his hand and suffused her arms, making the wounds momentarily more painful, and she whimpered, biting her lip. But then the blistering started to heal, and eventually, her skin was pristine again.

"Thank you," she breathed with relief.

"A picture album," Crowley said sardonically, shaking his head. He started to rise.

Barry approached again, needing to be sure that Gail was okay, but when Crowley wheeled on him, Barry stopped in his tracks. "Sorry about a moment ago," Crowley said casually. "But I don't enjoy being approached suddenly."

"Who are you?" Barry asked him.

Crowley gave him a thin smile. "Crowley. King of Hell." He glanced at Cas. "Longtime enemy, erstwhile ally. I'm in ally mode at the moment."

"King of Hell?" Tommy said sharply. "What's he talking about, Cas?"

Cas frowned. "It's complicated."

Gail was still touching her arms, relieved beyond measure that the pain was gone. "Very complicated," she confirmed, nodding. She indicated Barry and Tommy, looking at Crowley. "And these guys are - "

"I know who they are," he interrupted. "The poofters."

Tommy and Barry exchanged glances. Had they just been insulted, or not?

"These are two souls I won't be getting, thanks to you and your new laws," Crowley groused good-naturedly. He sighed. "But that's all right; these two are too goody-good to be decent Demon material, anyway."

"Exactly," Gail said firmly. "That's all I was trying to say at the time. Gay doesn't automatically mean hellbound, any more than being straight means you're automatically a good person. Don't worry, you'll still get all the perverts and the criminals," she added dryly.

Barry and Tommy were astounded to see how Crowley, Gail and Cas were interacting. She was smiling at Crowley now, and both Cas and Crowley helped her up from her chair. "Let's go check the perimeter," Cas said. "I want to make sure the protections are as strong as possible before we leave for Egypt in the morning."

"Egypt? So that's where the first one is, eh?" Crowley mused aloud. "You know, there are still some places in Luxor where you can drop my name and drink for free all night." Dean perked up at that. Then Crowley continued, "Then again, there are other places where the mere mention of my name will get you eviscerated and decapitated. I just wish I could remember which was which."

Gail was smiling, shaking her head. "Let's go," she told Cas and Crowley. She took their hands, and they popped outside.

"Now that we're alone, I need to know: How likely is it that you're going to be able to pull this off?" Crowley asked Castiel.

"Of course we'll pull it off," Cas told his Brother. "We all have parts to play, and once we are able to get into the newly discovered chambers, Sam or Dean will be able to carry the Tablet out for us."

"Parts to play?" Crowley asked curiously. "Such as?"

"Gail, Sam and Dean will be American reporters," Cas said. "Tommy's gotten them credentials."

Crowley nodded, looking slyly at Gail. "You'll have every inch of you covered, of course, including the bottom half of your face," he said to her. She frowned but nodded. "But how are you travelling around, sweetheart?" Crowley asked her, genuinely curious now. "You can't do it the Angel way, and you can't go with a Winchester, or even with your fiance here, without having to worry about being stoned to death. I'm not sure if they actually do that anymore, but I wouldn't like to find out, if I were you."

"Frank and Jody are coming, too," Gail responded. "Well, at least I'm assuming that they are. And since Frank's my brother, he has to accompany me everywhere, apparently. In this day and age. Can you imagine?" she said to Crowley.

"Yes, I can," Crowley told her. She glared at him, and he held his hands up in supplication. "Hey, I'm not saying that I approve, necessarily. I'm just saying that some cultures don't progress because they don't want to progress. It's a Catch-22, isn't it, sweetheart? If men are in charge and everything is skewed to their favour, why should they want to change that? But in order to change things without having total anarchy, there would have to be a woman bold enough, and with enough influence on society, to bring about gradual change."

But this talk was giving him an idea now, and Crowley turned to Castiel. "You haven't said what your role will be," he said slyly.

"Me?" Cas said, stalling. He had been hoping to think of a way to cushion the blow for Gail first, but he couldn't think of anything that would do that, really. He looked at her. "Now, with the addition of Frank, Tommy has given me a different role to play. I'll be a member of the royal family, who may have a claim to ownership of the contents of the newly discovered chambers."

"And how many wives will you have, Sheikh?" Crowley asked him, thoroughly enjoying himself now.

Castiel sighed, wincing. "Fourteen," he said quietly.

Predictably enough, Gail erupted. "What?!" she exclaimed.

"Not bad," Crowley smirked. "Fourteen sweet, submissive women, at your beck and call."

Gail took her blade out of her pocket, looking at it. "I'm not above making the both of you into Swiss cheese right now, just so you know," she snapped.

"Gail, you know I won't be having anything to do with any of those women," Castiel assured her, approaching her slowly.

"He won't have to," Crowley spoke up. "They'll be there to serve HIM. Attend to his every need, from what I understand."

"Okay, you need to shut up now," Gail said, pointing her blade at him. Then she waved it in the direction of the bunker. "So, are we going to shore up these protections, or not?"

The two men took their blades out, and the trio reinforced the seals around the outside door of the bunker. Then they moved to the garage door and did the same.

Gail had been tight-lipped the whole time, attending to the business at hand. But once they were done, she couldn't stand it anymore. She wheeled on Castiel. "That doesn't mean I have to like it." Then she turned to Crowley. "I will wipe that smirk right off your face." Then she popped herself back into the bunker, leaving the two men standing there.

Crowley looked at Castiel. "Are you sure you don't want her to take the ancient vows?" he quipped.

Cas frowned. "I don't blame her for being upset. I would be too, if I were in her shoes."

"As would I," Crowley acknowledged, somewhat surprisingly. He dipped his head. "You know, it's a pity you have to do this with such finesse. I might just be tempted to blast myself in there and take my chances. That's your usual Modus Operandi, is it not?"

"Yes, but the Tablet is warded to us," Castiel said, letting out a frustrated breath. Therefore, we have to involve humans. And in order to do that, we must assimilate."

Crowley smirked again. "Well, here's some free advice. Don't assimilate too much, if you still want to make her your bride. That is, assuming she will still marry you after this Egyptian caper is over."

Now Castiel looked like he was thinking about that, and Crowley had had all the fun he could stand for one day. He wanted to affix that look of panic on Castiel's face in his memory for a while. But he had a message to convey, first.

"I know that lot doesn't approve of our working together so closely on this," Crowley said, gesturing vaguely towards the bunker door. "But this is Lucifer we're talking about, not just some garden-variety Demon. Not even Bobby could defeat him, even if Bobby were still God, which we both know that he's not. But it's all right, Castiel. I'm not asking you to deny Bobby. We all know how well that worked out for Judas. All I'm saying is, don't let your humans, or your own sentiments, get in the way of your doing what needs to be done. However it needs to be done. Even if you have to lie, cheat, and steal to do it."

Castiel was frowning, but Crowley wasn't actually telling him anything he didn't already know. It wasn't as if he hadn't used some very questionable methods to get things done in the past, if the situation warranted. Castiel had no particular desire to lie to his friends, but on the other hand, he was an expert by now on evasion and obfuscation. In effect, what they were looking to do was stealing, in a way. But if they were to find any remains, royal or otherwise, or any other artifacts, those would be left alone. This was the Earth Tablet, after all, and it was going to be used to save all of the denizens of Earth. Cas had absolutely no compunctions whatsoever about taking it.

But Crowley had used the word "cheat", too, and that was a very complicated word, in some respects. It had many different interpretations and implications. Cas would decide for himself, if and when the time came, where the line had to be drawn. It wouldn't be Crowley deciding for him, but it wouldn't be Bobby or the Winchesters, either. Lucifer had to be stopped. That was the mission.

"This earthquake was just the opening salvo, Castiel. You know how these things work by now. Be very, very careful," Crowley said. "Call me if you need to." He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

When Cas re-entered the bunker, Bobby was there with Kevin, Chuck, and Ethan. "Dean called and told me your reporter friend here has put together a slide show, sort of a crash course on Egyptian culture, and what we can expect to see when we get there."

Castiel shrugged. He didn't need it, but it was a good idea for the humans and maybe especially for Gail, he thought. Soon they would have to endure their forced separation, and he would be unable to assist her with any inquiries she may have.

That was, if she would even be looking to speak with him at all. She'd given him a brief glance when he'd popped back in, but now she was sitting on the couch talking to Frank and Jody. Little Robbie was sitting on Barry's knee, telling him and Tommy how cool Disneyland had been.

Tommy looked up at Cas. "OK, if everyone's here now, I'll get started," he told them. He and Sam had hooked his laptop up to the TV, and Tommy clicked on the first photo now.

"The Valley of the Kings," he said. "This is where the tombs are."

"Wow," Chuck said, and the rest of them agreed. Tommy showed them a few more slides of the area, and everyone was amazed. It really did look like something out of the movies.

"The temperature will be swelteringly hot," Tommy told them. "It'll remain so until late November or early December. Too bad you couldn't go then. It would still be toasty, but right now, it'll be hot as...well, you know."

"Balls," Bobby said, and the men laughed. Gail did not. "Great," she lamented. She hated the heat, worse than...well, almost anything. At least if it was cold, she could bundle up. Or she could normally just cuddle with Cas if she was cold. But that wouldn't even be an option on this trip, so it was probably just as well.

She turned around on the couch and looked at him. He was standing in the library area, and as soon as he saw her look his way, they made eye contact. Now she was feeling sorry for her childish behaviour earlier. She knew that there was no way she had anything to worry about when it came to Cas and those women. Whatever occasional moments he were to spend at this palace they were ensconcing him in would likely be spent trying to avoid the women from the harem at all costs. Gail could picture him running around the place, doing a sort of reverse hide-and-seek. It was kind of funny, if you thought about it.

"Come here, Cas," she said to him. He walked over to the couch. "Move over, Barry," she said to their friend. "Make room for Cas to sit down."

"Here, I'll get up," Jody said. "It's time for Robbie to go to bed, anyway."

"No! I want Barry to take me!" Robbie exclaimed.

Barry smiled. "It's OK, I'll take him. Makes more sense, anyway; that way, you can continue to watch the slide show. You're going to Egypt, not me."

Jody looked thoughtful for a moment. "OK, thanks, Barry," she said. Barry lifted Robbie off his lap and said, "Let's go, Robbie. You can tell me a couple more stories about Disneyland as I'm tucking you in."

Cas took the space on the couch that Barry had vacated, and Gail said, "There's room, if anyone else wants to come here and sit with us."

"What do you mean?" Frank said. "No, there's not."

Gail squirmed onto Cas's lap. "There is now," she said innocently.

Cas was pleasantly surprised, and his arms went around her immediately. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "I was just being a big baby. I know you would never do anything with any of those women."

"Of course not," Cas assured her. "It's only a cover story. The palace is very large. I'm sure I won't even see any of them."

"OK, Cas," she said softly, kissing him on the cheek. "OK. I don't want to fight any more."

"So, we won't," Cas assured her. He nuzzled her cheek with his.

Bobby cleared his throat. "All right, you two. Ya know, I can't wait till you get married. Then we won't have to put up with this huggy-kissy crap all the time."

Castiel's brow furrowed. Why would their getting married stop their ability to hug and kiss each other? If anything, as far as he was concerned, it meant that they would be doing it even more often.

"I'll tell you later," Gail murmured in his ear, smiling. She'd seen his puzzled look at what Bobby had said. "But right now, we'd better get back to the slide show." She shifted her position in Cas's lap slightly to look at Tommy. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Tommy. Go ahead."

Now Cas was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He loved that she was no longer angry with him, but he wished she would stop moving like that. He was starting to feel excited by her proximity to him, and when she had shifted her position, his hands had accidentally touched her bare skin for a moment. He wanted to lift her from his lap and put her beside him on the couch, but he didn't know how he could do that without hurting her feelings.

But luckily, Tommy was returning to his presentation now, so everyone's attention would be on that, and Cas could calm down a little.

"So, as I was saying about the temperature, everyone just make sure that you wear hats and sunglasses, and slather on the sunscreen. And wear sturdy shoes. No sandals or flip-flops, or anything like that. The footing at a lot of these dig sites can be very tricky. And you'll be converting your dollars into piastres, and pounds. There's a conversion rate chart in your packages."

"How do we get to the dig site from our hotel?" Sam wanted to know.

"There are several ways to go about that," Tommy replied. "Most people rent cars or take tour buses, but you can even ride there on a donkey, if you want to go old-school."

"I was kind of hoping I'd get to ride a camel at some point," Dean piped up.

"Sorry, Dean, that's out of one of your movies," Tommy told him. "I'm not saying there aren't any camels there, I'm just saying you probably won't have the opportunity to get on one."

Frank said, "I know nobody else is going to ask this, so I will: How, or where, do we go to the bathroom when we get out there?"

Tommy smiled. "They have porta-loos, which are exactly what the name suggests."

"That probably won't be much of a problem," Sam said. "We'll likely be way too dehydrated from the heat to have to go much, anyway."

Chuck had been thinking about the camels. "Are there still nomads who ride around in the desert, or am I thinking like the movies, too?" he asked Tommy.

"Yes, and no," Tommy replied. "There are Bedouins. They're Arabs who used to be desert wanderers, but they've had to conform to modern society's standards, for the most part. Those guys mainly work at conventional jobs now, but every now and then, they still like to go out on a jaunt. You may see them after hours, once all the tourists have left."

"They wouldn't have anything to do with us, though, would they?" Chuck asked.

Tommy shrugged. "Probably not. Bedouins have a hierarchy of loyalties based on proximity of kinship. Immediate family, outward." Sam and Dean smiled at each other. They could definitely approve of that philosophy.

Tommy continued, "The Bedouin tribes can be related by blood, but they can also be related by marriage. The latter relationship is considered just as close." The brothers smiled at their friends. That was Frank and Jody now, and Robbie by extension, of course. And it would be Cas and Gail soon, too. But to Sam and Dean, they were already all family. They didn't need a piece of paper or some vows to tell them how they felt. "Then there are the cousins," Tommy added, and those were the Angels, of course, and Barry and Tommy now, too. Even Crowley, in a way.

"Tribes traditionally have just the one head, like you all have God," Tommy went on. "The Bedouins are big on livestock and the herding of animals, and they're generally a very peace-loving group. If you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone."

That was certainly true, Castiel thought. There had been one time, in the ancient times, that he had gone wandering out there with his flock, and he hadn't seen another soul for a couple of years, at least. That had been a great time of serenity, prayer, and contemplation.

"Camels are gifts from God," Cas blurted out. "If you are dehydrated and in need of nourishment, they can be milked even in extreme desert humidity."

They all looked at him for a moment. He had a dreamlike look on his face, as if he were suddenly being transported back to the past. Biblical times, maybe. Things had been far from perfect back then, Castiel was thinking, but at least they had been far simpler. Occasionally, he felt tempted to return to that type of a minimalist lifestyle. His arms tightened around Gail. He wondered how she would feel if he were to suggest that, at least for a while. At least this time he would have someone to converse with, instead of the very one-sided conversations he'd had with the animals. She could help him with the flock, and at night, they could lay together, looking at the stars and talking. He had many centuries' worth of stories that he could tell her. He kissed her softly on the cheek. How wonderful that would be. No enemies, no killings. Just peace and love and serenity.

Gail smiled. She was sure that Cas was thinking about the olden days. Literally. There was still so much she had to learn about him, and from him.

Tommy picked up the narrative. "Most of the Bedouins these days are settled, with sedentary, conventional jobs. But they do still go out on the occasional midnight camel ride, just for old times' sake. They also raise and breed white doves, and some of them practice falconry in their spare time. But not all of them are so gentle, or so content." He frowned and changed the slide. Suddenly, they were looking at quite a different type of Bedouin. Tommy had been showing them robe-clad men, women and children feeding and raising livestock, and walking through city streets hand-in-hand as they crossed the street. A nice mix of modern and old school, and the people had all looked happy.

But the men they saw on this new slide did not look happy. "Then there are the militants," Tommy told them. "The Egyptian government expropriated much of the Bedouins' land, and even if they were still to roam around, there would be very few places that they could go now that they could call their own. It's like the American Indian, in a way. Big Brother, marching in and taking your land for themselves, telling you how they think you should be living your life. No wonder some of them are really bitter. But these guys have taken it to the extreme. Their solution is to be involved with shady people, and a lot of the militants are into drug-and-weapons smuggling. They figure if they can accumulate enough money, and enough weapons, they can get their land back somehow. So the tension is thick in some areas, between them and the government, obviously, but also between the different factions of Bedouins. The gentle livestock farmers think the militia men are way too radical and are giving them all a bad name, whereas the militia think the shepherds should join them and rebel against the government. They believe if they don't all rise up together in revolution, they will lose their entire culture."

"So what you're telling us is that some Arabs Bedouin' good things, and some Bedouin' bad things," Frank piped up.

Silence.

"I want a divorce," Jody said.

"Never mind, Jody, we'll just turn him over to the Egyptian government when we get there," Gail said cheerfully. "A couple more jokes like that, and I'll be scalping tickets to his public flogging."

"Two, please, up front," Dean said, pretending to reach for his wallet.

After the laughter died down, Kevin asked Tommy, "What kind of wild animals are there going to be there? I know intellectually that I'm an Angel so they can't really hurt me, but I've always had a thing about snakes. Besides, I'm sure these guys would want to know that stuff." He indicated the Winchesters, and Frank and Jody.

"Funny you should ask; I was just about to get to that," Tommy said. "Probably the four worst, as far as wild animals go, are your snakes, your scorpions, your weasels, and your mongooses. Or is it mongeese?" He put a slide on the TV screen of a black scorpion, and Gail made a face. "Actually, black scorpions' venom doesn't generally kill," Tommy told them. "The only scorpion you have to worry about doing you in is this guy." He changed slides. "The Palestinian yellow scorpion, which is thankfully rare where you'll be going. Both scorpions are gross to look at, I know, Gail." Tommy smiled at her. She was making another face of disgust. She'd always had a thing about bugs. "This yellow one is extremely fatal, though," Tommy continued, "so remember what it looks like. If you ever see one, run very quickly in the opposite direction." As Kevin shuddered, Tommy added, "Oh, and before I forget, I meant to expand on Cas's point about camels. A camel has one hump; a dromedary has two. And just in case you ever need to know, they can store water in their humps for weeks on end."

Cas smiled. They certainly could. Tommy had really done his homework. He smiled at their friend, nodding his approval.

Tommy changed slides again. "OK, back to the animals you want to avoid. The saw-scaled viper makes a harsh, rasping sound across the sand. If you ever hear that, get away, as fast as you can. Their venom is deadly." Then he showed them another slide of a different kind of a snake. "The Sand Boa, on the other hand, is non-venomous; it's only a small snake, just a couple of feet long. But it helps keep the rodent population in check, so hunting or killing it is forbidden."

"Damn, I hate snakes," Dean said. "Can't we just tell them we're Americans, and kill them all, just on general principles?"

Castiel frowned. "Dean, the purpose of this educational session is to learn about the Egyptian way of life, and to assimilate as best we can while we're there."

"He's right," Bobby said. "The last thing we would need is you hauled off to some Egyptian jail because you killed the wrong kind of snake. Now, pay attention."

Tommy smiled. God may be down-to-earth, but he definitely had the voice of authority. Dean's mouth snapped shut.

Tommy showed them a couple more slides. "Sand cats. Desert foxes. Both of these animals are unusual looking, but they're not particularly dangerous. They would likely run away before having any sort of confrontation with you."

The screen went dark for a moment, but Tommy continued to speak, checking his notes. "You'll want mosquito netting around your beds at night, especially if your hotel room has an open patio, which many of them do."

"Isn't there any air conditioning in the hotels?" Gail asked, alarmed.

"It gets cool in the desert at night," Tommy told her. "You shouldn't need it."

Yeah, right, Gail thought. She'd believe that when she felt it. God, she hated the heat.

"It does get quite cool at night," Cas assured her. "It's kind of like Las Vegas in that respect."

Gail shrugged. "I sure hope so. Otherwise, I'll just have to pop over to your palace. I'm sure such an esteemed member of Egyptian society will have all the comforts. Or maybe you'll just get all of your wives to stand over you and fan you, in unison."

"Say what, now?" Sam said.

"There's been a slight change of plans," Tommy told them. "Cas is going in as a member of the royal family. His name will be Sheikh Faraz al-Tayeb Mahmoud Shakir."

"Can you write that out on an index card?" Sam quipped.

"Doesn't matter; you'll all just be calling him 'Sheikh', anyway. You would never presume to call a member of the royal family by anything other than their title," Tommy responded.

Sam and Dean looked at each other, then they looked at Cas. He was trying not to smile at the expressions on their faces.

"What's this about wives?" Chuck asked Tommy.

"Cas has a harem of fourteen wives as part of his cover story," Tommy replied.

"Fourteen wives? Lucky bastard," Chuck said, shaking his head. The rich really did get richer, didn't they?

"If you think that was lucky, you didn't see Gail's face when she found out," Cas told Chuck. "I think that was the real reason why Crowley left in such a hurry. She scared him to death."

Gail couldn't help but smile at Cas's quip. "What kind of clothes should I bring, Tommy?" Gail asked him. "I know, lots."

"Yeah, I was wondering that same thing myself," Jody said.

"For you ladies, more is definitely more," Tommy said. "You'll need to wear long sleeves and pants, or ankle length skirts. I'd recommend loose clothing. Most women wear a pashmina or other kind of wrap on top, as well."

"Man, I feel hot just thinking about it," Gail complained.

"What about us?" Dean asked.

Tommy shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Jeans and T-shirts are fine, though I'd stay away from anything political. Maybe just wear plain T-shirts, just to be on the safe side. Stick with solid colours. Maybe leave the flannel at home," he continued, his lips twitching now. "Cas advises me that you guys are partial to that, but it'll be too warm for the desert, anyway." And maybe you want to have a bit more of a sophisticated look, something a little more sophisticated than looking like Nebraska corn farmers, Tommy thought, but did not say. He really liked Sam and Dean, but man, they could certainly benefit from an upgrade to their wardrobes.

"Oh, Cas says, does he?" Dean said. "And what will His Highness be wearing?"

"A gallibaya, which is a long shirt, with a striped kaftan over it," Tommy responded, smiling. He felt like they had segued from Wild Kingdom into America's Top Model, or something. "The kaftan is full-length, like a coat, with wide, long sleeves. The coat's open in the front, tied by a fabric belt. He can wear pants underneath, but that's entirely optional." Suddenly it felt very warm in the room. Tommy deliberately avoided looking at Cas. He shouldn't be thinking about what their friend may or may not be packing under there. It was a good thing that Barry had left the room to tuck Robbie in. Barry had been attracted to Cas since Day One; Tommy still teased him about it, from time to time.

"So basically, you can fly and be free, if you want," Dean said to Cas, smirking. "You know, there's something to be said for that, especially in that kind of heat."

"Hopefully, none of those wives will be picking out your clothes in the morning," Sam said, grinning.

Cas gave him a baleful look. Thanks for helping, Sam. "Why would you say something like that?" he berated Sam. Cas could feel Gail's body tense.

"Yes, exactly how DOES that work, Tommy?" Gail asked. She was trying to sound casual, but Cas could hear the slight edge in her voice.

"He'll have a manservant," Tommy said. "Kind of like a personal assistant-slash-butler."

"Oh, my God," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "Must be nice."

"Oh, like you would want a butler dressing you every day," Sam said scornfully. "'Do you want to wear the blue flannel, sir, or the red?'"

Gail laughed, and Dean looked at her. "So, fourteen wives, huh?" he said, and she stopped smiling.

"Dean," Cas said miserably.

"It's OK, Cas, we all know you don't want fourteen wives," Dean said cheerfully. "So why don't we help you out with that? I'll take, say, four off your hands. Sammy'll be good for three. Chuck, two, Kevin, two, Ethan...nah, you were married, you probably don't want in. Jody's got a gun, so I'm not even going to ask you, Frank. So, how many does that leave? You want in on this, Bobby?"

"I could take at least one more, if it'll help the numbers come out right," Chuck said, grinning.

"Oh, look at you guys," Gail said sarcastically. "Suddenly, you're math savants."

"Yeah. Idjit savants," Bobby added dryly.

"Thank you, Bobby! That was just the term I was searching for," Gail said gleefully.

Cas was very quiet now. He wished everyone would just leave the subject alone. He had realized he'd be in for a bit of teasing about it, but he was engaged now, and there was simply no question of anything untoward happening. Not that there would have been before, or would be, ever. But Cas was beginning to feel insulted, and their friends were being insulting to Gail, as well.

"That's enough," he said with quiet authority. "I know you all think you're being very funny, but this is a sensitive subject for both Gail and I right now. She knows that I would never do anything to violate the sanctity of our relationship, but what you are doing now is insulting to us both, and you need to cease immediately."

A silence fell over the room, and Gail looked into Cas's eyes and smiled. She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thank you, sweetie," she said to him, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist.

But the situation was still bothering her. Gail trusted Cas, and she knew that he was being entirely sincere, but it was still making her nuts. She kept picturing all of those beautiful, sweet, submissive women, feeding him grapes by hand, lightly rubbing his temples, taking off his shoes, helping him to relax. Was she just being ridiculous, buying into the stereotype? Or was it just because she was going to be stuck all the way across town from him? Hopefully, just because half of her face had to be covered, that didn't mean that her mind would be closed, as well. Damn Crowley. He had planted the seeds in her brain, but she needed to shake that off now.

"Robbie's down for the count," Barry announced. He had just come down the hall, and he noticed that things had gotten very quiet all of a sudden. He could sense the tension in the room, so he thought that he could at least reassure Frank and Jody that their son was taken care of.

"Which brings us to be the big question," Bobby said. "If you two come with us to Egypt, what are you going to do about Robbie?" he asked the couple.

They exchanged glances, and so did Barry and Tommy. "If everyone's OK with it, we might have a solution," Tommy said. "Barry and I are homeless at the moment anyway, and he's quit his job now. If you trust us, we could stay here and look after him until you get back."

Frank and Jody looked at each other, and then they looked at the men. "You'd really be willing to do that?" Jody asked them.

"We'd love to," Barry said. "We both love kids, and if there's anything we can do to help out, we're only too glad to do it."

"That's if you're OK with two 'gay guys' looking after your child," Tommy said to Frank with a half-smile.

"Hey, as long as you treat him right, I don't give a damn how gay you are," Frank said, shrugging. "Kid's been through an awful lot, in a short period of time."

Jody frowned. "Damn it, Frank. I wanted him to be able to start school as soon as we came back from Disneyland."

Frank took her hand. "Jodes, if we don't stop Lucifer, attending school will be the least of his problems," he said grimly.

Cas was nodding his approval of Frank's statement, and Bobby said, "Frank's right, Jody. Short-term pain for long-term gain."

"And if Sam and Dean are OK with us staying here, we can home-school him every day," Tommy said. "History, geography, literature, whatever you think is appropriate."

"Yeah, of course you'll stay here," Dean said. "Lucifer's already screwed around with the two of you, and this place has every known protection. At least that's one thing Crowley was useful for."

"If you want me to, Bobby, I can put a couple of my officers outside for extra protection," Ethan chipped in.

"As long as they're more competent than the one you had watching his mother," Castiel said bluntly.

Ethan regarded him evenly. Cas was a good guy, but Castiel the Angel could be a dick sometimes. Still, he was not wrong. The last Angel that Ethan had had guarding Felicia's house had made an error in judgement, and she had subsequently been murdered. Ethan had put in a lot of long hours since, in an effort to ensure that that type of mistake would never happen again. At the end of the day, Ethan was the head of the department, so the responsibility rested with him. But Ethan didn't exactly see Cas offering to help. Too busy planning his wedding, maybe. But then again, maybe Ethan was being a little unfair on that score. Bobby may be coming along on the mission and bringing the Musketeers with him, but it was becoming increasingly apparent to Ethan who was really going to be in charge of this operation. So he supposed that Cas did have a lot on his plate at the moment.

"Barry and Tommy are the two witnesses, then," Gail said suddenly.

"We're the what?" Barry inquired good-naturedly.

"The two witnesses, from the Book of Revelation," Gail answered. Then she smiled. "Don't worry. That's a good thing." At least, she thought it was. Wasn't it? She didn't remember exactly what the Bible had said about the witnesses, only that they had eventually ascended. But Cas was frowning. He knew better, but he did not say so.

"Oh, OK. As long as it's a good thing," Barry said, smiling at her. This was Gail; she and Cas were his and Tommy's Angels, and anything she said was good enough for him.

Sam yawned. "Are you finished with the slide show, Tommy?" he asked. "If so, I wonder if we should just pack it in for the night. I don't know about any of my other fellow humans, but I like to be alert when I'm walking into a dangerous, politically charged situation."

They all smiled wryly. "Good point, Sam," Bobby said. "Let's go, guys," he said to the Musketeers. "We'll be back down in the morning. What time do you want to leave?" he asked the Winchesters.

Dean thought for a minute. "Nine a.m.?" he said, looking at Sam, Frank and Jody. "That way we can get some coffee and breakfast into us before we get there and have to start eating all kinds of weird food."

Bobby and the Angels said goodnight, and Sam looked at Barry and Tommy. "You guys can stay in Cas and Gail's room tonight, if that's OK with them. They don't sleep anyway, and I'll bet you anything they're going to be kissing and canoodling all night, considering they're going to be separated by a whole couple of miles tomorrow," he teased lightly.

"No, what we're going to be separated by is eons and eons of unchecked male chauvinism," Gail groused.

Everyone said goodnight to her and Cas, and soon, they were alone. Gail had finally gotten off his lap, and she sat beside him on the couch now.

"I'm sorry things will have to be this way," Cas told her, holding both of her hands in his. "I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure we have a quick and successful mission."

"I know you will, Cas," she said. Then she sighed. "I guess I've been pretty unreasonable about this whole thing, haven't I? You have enough to worry about, without me acting like the biggest baby in the world."

"I don't think you're being unreasonable at all," Cas told her. "I wish we did not have to be separated. I wish we were already married."

"I do too, in a way," Gail said, squeezing his hands. "But in another way, I'm really glad we still have all of that to look forward to. When I start to feel sorry for myself over there, I'll just start to fantasize about our wedding. And it's not like I won't get to see you at all. We'll both be at the dig site, right? If they won't let me approach you, or even talk to you, at least I can bat my doe eyes at you from across the tomb."

Cas laughed, and then his expression turned serious. "If I had my existence to live all over again, I would have found you centuries sooner." He touched her ring. "And I would have had a lot longer to think of how to properly ask you to marry me."

"What do you mean?" Gail said, puzzled. "I thought that what you said was just perfect."

"No, I was too nervous," Cas said, shaking his head. "If I had been able to think clearly, I should have quoted Hosea: 'I will engage myself to you forever; And I will engage myself to you in righteousness, In loyal love and in mercy. And I will engage myself to you in faithfulness.'" He kissed her hands softly. "Gail, you know that I would never let any female break our bond, don't you? Please, I want to hear you say it."

"Yes, of course I know that, Cas," she told him. "I was just letting my imagination get the better of me."

"Another thing you can think of, when you're thinking, is where you'd like to live, and visualize the type of house you want," Cas said. Then he snapped his fingers. "In fact, if you'd like, we can ask Barry and Tommy to check some local real estate listings while we're away."

"Cas, that's a great idea!" Gail exclaimed.

He smiled. "It's settled, then. That will give us something to look forward to when we return."

"I love you, Cas," she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you too, Gail. Please, do not ever forget that. I will merely be playing a part there, nothing more," Castiel said earnestly. He nuzzled her cheek. "You know, they say that it can be exciting to deceive others into thinking that you are strangers," he said softly, smiling.

"That's really funny, coming from someone who told me he wants to stay away from any excitement until after the wedding," Gail said into his ear.

"Anticipation can also be a glorious thing," Cas said. His lips grazed her cheek. "I waited for you since the beginning of time, didn't I?"

"Give me just one more kiss, and then you're going to have to go and sit in that chair over there, before I lose my mind," Gail told him.

He kissed her on the mouth, but only lightly. He didn't dare kiss her the way he really wanted to; that would just be asking for trouble. He'd had years of training in self-discipline in Heaven, and even though that particular quality had never been his strong suit, he meant to use every ounce of it he did possess now. After all, he was the one who was asking this of her, so he must lead by example.

Cas rose slowly from the couch and walked over to the bookshelves. He grabbed the book in their series that he had been reading to her from last and brought it back to the armchair.

"Ready?" he asked her.

She nodded, smiling. She was more than ready. Gail was actually glad they had stopped when they had. She could tell how much it meant to Cas to wait until they were married, so now, it meant something to her, too. If he could exhibit self-control, she should be able to, too.

Gail stretched out on the couch as Cas started reading to her. Normally, she would close her eyes in order to visualize in her mind's eye the scene he was describing, and also to concentrate on his voice. But this time she kept her eyes open, studying him as he read to her. The way his hair would fall over his forehead when he bent to the book. He usually kept it fairly short, but if things got particularly hectic in their lives, sometimes his hair would get a bit long, and he wouldn't seem to notice. Then, one day, it would be short again, and then the cycle would repeat itself. It was getting long again now, and he swept it back unconsciously with his hand as he continued to read. He was probably letting it grow so he could look more like a Sheikh. His face was already dark with stubble. She knew that if he didn't shave tomorrow, he would already be growing a beard. And that was the idea, of course. Apparently Egyptian men were suspicious of men who couldn't or wouldn't grow beards, and as a supposed member of the royal family, Cas would have to have one, of course. He'd told her that a few things could be explained away. They were going to say that he had been away from his culture for a few years getting schooled in America and in Western ways, and that was why he would speak very little Arabic, and why he would sometimes wear trousers and shirts. But once he got to Egypt, his Western ways would have to go.

As Cas continued to read to her, she watched his eyes as they scanned the pages. Every once in a while, he would look up, reacting to her steady gaze, and he would smile. His eyes would brighten in colour when he did that, and they were such a beautiful blue. She loved the way he acted out all the parts, too, and the intonations he used during the narrative. He would gesture with his head or his hand every now and then, and she wasn't sure if he was even aware that he was doing it. It was so cute.

Then she looked at his hands as he turned the pages of the book. He had strong hands, but whenever he touched her with them or they had held hands, his skin felt so soft, and his touch was so gentle. His fingers were caressing the pages of the book lovingly, just like they would caress her skin. Cas obviously loved the printed word, just as Gail herself did, and always had. The two of them had many differing qualities, but that was something they'd always shared in common. She couldn't wait for him to set up a few bookshelves in their new home. They would have a set of these books, of course, and she would make it a point to find out what some of his favourite books were. They hadn't really talked in much detail about that. Considering how long he'd been around, he could probably introduce her to many of the classics. Maybe she could read to him sometimes, when he was in need of some relaxation. Their books would be well-loved, and there would be no dog-ears in them, and no dust on them.

Gail could see Cas's Adam's Apple move as he continued to read. Funny, she didn't usually notice that particular feature on him. It was something that all males had, and unless it was particularly prominent, you didn't really think too much about it. And in Cas's case, it was his vessel's body, anyway. She seldom separated the two in her mind, though. But as she thought more about it, Gail thought it was funny to be thinking about Cas's Adam's Apple at all. After all, when Cas had been Abel, Adam had been Cas's father. She stopped to think about that for an extra moment. Adam and Eve had been Crowley and Cas's parents. It was a good thing that she was already lying down, because the concept was almost too much for her to handle.

Then she studied the rest of him, and by the time she had gotten down to his thighs, Gail realized that she had better quit what she was thinking, because she was making herself nuts again. She ought to just concentrate on the story. It was almost like she'd been trying to affix every detail of him in her mind, for the upcoming time that they would have to be apart. It was no wonder that they made their friends so nauseous, really. She and Cas were probably only going to be kept apart physically for a day or two. It wasn't exactly the end of the world.

Castiel had been enjoying reading to Gail, and he had been enjoying feeling the warmth of her gaze on him. He knew what she was doing, because he had pretty much been doing the same thing. Her beautiful, warm brown eyes. She was always saying that his eyes were more beautiful than hers, because hers were brown. But Cas had looked into those eyes a lot, and he couldn't explain to her how entranced he felt every time he looked into them. There were many different tiny flecks of colour in her eyes, depending on her mood. He could understand on an intellectual level why she objected to having the lower half of her face covered, simply because she happened to be female. But Cas was looking forward to seeing her that way in Egypt, simply because looking at her face covered in that manner would make her eyes stand out even more. 'Doe eyes' didn't even begin to cover it. The first time he saw her like that in Egypt, it was going to take all the self-control he had not to run over to where she stood and kiss her, right then and there.

But Cas was also preoccupied. Tommy had done the best job that he could, but Cas was not convinced that it would be enough. His Father had always been a big believer in backup plans, and Castiel realized now that he had better have one, as well. And it had better be a good one.

Even while he was reading to Gail, an idea was forming in Cas's mind. He had been mentally taken back to ancient times earlier, when Tommy had been painting a picture of Egyptian desert life for the others. Cas was planning to pass himself off as a member of King Tut's royal family, but Castiel was now reminded that he actually belonged to a much older, and much more regal, family. Perhaps a little Biblical research was in order.

He finished the page he'd been reading, and then he looked at Gail. "I need to look at the computer for a bit. Do you mind?"

"No, of course not," she said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Cas rose from the chair. "No, not really," he said lightly. "I just thought that I should brush up on a few Arabic words and phrases. Tommy has arranged for me to leave by a private jet very early in the morning, and they know that I'm coming from the United States, so they'll be expecting me to be 'Westernized', to a certain extent. Still, it couldn't hurt to ingratiate myself by being able to speak a smattering of Arabic, and I haven't spoken any in many, many years."

Gail shook her head slowly. "There's still so much I don't know about you, isn't there?"

He brought her the book he'd been reading and kissed her on the forehead. "Well then, it's lucky that we're eternal beings, isn't it? We'll have the rest of our existences to talk about those kinds of things."

Cas went to the computer and checked on the information for his flight in the morning. There was a private jet picking him up in Washington, D.C., just after dawn. Even non-stop, the flight would last nearly fifteen hours, so he would have plenty of time alone, to bone up on the language and begin to settle into his erstwhile persona. But he wanted to know if it might be possible for him to pull off what he'd had in mind with any plausibility in the modern world, and he had forgotten exactly what they all had been.

He found them right away, of course, and he listed them all quickly on a sheet of paper, which he would burn as soon as he had committed it to memory. But first, he needed to get them memorized, and in the right order.

After Cas had been on the computer for a while, he saw Gail rise from the couch out of the corner of his eye. He exited what he'd been looking at immediately, and he folded the sheet of paper so that she would not see what was written on it. By the time she got to his side, he'd put a website on the screen that displayed simple Arabic words and phrases.

"Have you been looking at that all this time?" Gail asked him, leaning over his shoulder to look at the computer screen.

"I guess I'm rustier than I thought," Cas said, shrugging.

She kissed him on the cheek. "Well, it'll be sunrise in just a bit," she said to him. "I think I'll go outside and watch. Why don't you come, if you're done studying?"

"We'll see," Cas said vaguely.

Well, she'd tried. She guessed he was preoccupied with what he was studying now. "OK, Cas. Well, I'm going, anyway. It might be the last cool breeze I get to feel in quite a while. But don't worry, I won't go past the perimeter."

Cas nodded absently. Wow. He must really be worried about his Arabic, because he didn't give her his customary warning.

Gail popped outside and was startled for an instant to see a figure seated in one of the lounge chairs. She took out her blade and spoke the Enochian word to make the light come out of the hilt so that she could make out who it was.

"Very good, sweetheart," Crowley said. "Just like I taught you."

Gail sat down in the chair next to him. "What are YOU doing here?" she asked him curiously. Then it occurred to her that she wasn't even particularly surprised.

"I've been waiting to talk to Castiel," Crowley told her.

"You're waiting? To talk to Cas?" she echoed. Now she was really surprised.

"Yes. He called a few minutes ago and said he wanted to talk to me, before he flies out this morning," Crowley replied.

"Oh." Gail closed her mouth, then opened it, then closed it again. Strange. She'd told Cas she was coming out here, and he hadn't mentioned a thing about it.

"Let me guess; he didn't tell you," Crowley said.

"That's right, he didn't," Gail confirmed.

Crowley was pleased by that fact. It illustrated to him that Castiel had taken their earlier conversation to heart, and that he was morphing into warrior Castiel now. Castiel had told Crowley what he had in mind when he'd called him on their private frequency earlier, and Crowley had been impressed. It was the backup plan that Castiel had mentioned that Crowley was here to discuss.

"I apologize," Cas said. He appeared in front of them, having winked himself outside from the library area. He'd been so distracted when Gail had advised that she was coming outside that it had not occurred to him that Crowley would already be out here. Crowley could not enter the bunker, of course, and Castiel did not have the authority to invite him inside. Cas leaned down and kissed Gail on the forehead. "Can you leave us alone to speak privately, please?"

Gail made a face. "Any chance you're willing to tell me what this is all about?" she asked him.

"I think it's best that you don't know. For now, anyway," Castiel said grimly.

Gail looked back and forth between him and Crowley. So, the new role had begun, already. She sighed. "All right, Cas," she said. She rose from her chair, gave the two of them one more glance, and then winked herself inside.

Both men looked at the empty space where she'd been, surprised. No more questions, no arguments?

"Are you SURE she didn't promise to obey?" Crowley smirked. "Or maybe she just doesn't want you to be able to make too much comparison, when you get to the palace and meet your wives."

"Very amusing," Castiel said sarcastically, sitting in the seat she had just vacated. "So, what do you think? Could it be a viable backup plan?"

"Not only do I think it's viable, I think it's one of the best ideas you've ever had," Crowley said, "provided you've got the bollocks to carry it all the way through to the end, if you should need to. But if you're not prepared to follow through and carry out the last one, you might as well not even bother."

"It may not have to come to that," Cas said uncomfortably. "They may back down well before that point."

"They won't," Crowley said firmly. "They never learn, Castiel. But I must say, I think it's a bloody marvelous idea. Worthy of me, even."

Cas frowned. He was starting to detach now, in preparation for the role he was about to play. But he did not particularly appreciate Crowley's comment.

"I am NOT you, nor am I a dog, in need of praise from his master," Castiel said sharply. "Rest assured that I will be prepared to do what needs to be done, IF it needs to be done. Just make sure that you are ready to do your part, when I need you to do it."

"Oooh, I'm all tingly in my naughty bits," Crowley said, smirking. But he was extremely pleased to see this version of Castiel. It had been entirely too long, and it was just what they needed to try to kick the Devil's arse. "It's a pity I wouldn't look very good in a diaphanous veil and gown; otherwise, I might just have to become Number 15. Maybe you should keep some of that attitude for the wedding night, Castiel. I'm sure Gail would appreciate your...instruction, in a few matters." Then he snapped his fingers, and he was gone. He knew a good exit line when he'd uttered it.

Cas sat there for a minute. Crowley was being disgusting as usual, but Cas actually understood what he meant, strangely enough. Or maybe it wasn't so strange, after all. Castiel and Crowley went way, way back, further than Cas went back with anyone, except for God. They may not like each other, but they did understand each other. This wasn't a child's game they were playing here, and if some beings had to be sacrificed along the way, Cas knew he would have to find a way to be OK with that.

As soon as he noticed the sun creeping up on the horizon, Cas sent Gail a message and asked her to come outside and join him. She winked to his side immediately, and they watched the sun rise together.

She turned to him. "Tommy said to tell you he's ready whenever you are," Gail told him.

Cas sighed. So soon. "Thank you," he said to her. "I'd better go, then. Come here, please." He opened his arms, and she snuggled into them.

"I'm not going to ask you what that was all about," Gail said. "I trust you, Cas."

His arms tightened around her. "I'm glad," was all he said. Well, she would just have to trust that he would be able to make the appropriate decisions, when the time came. He was reminded of another time when he had deliberately kept something from her because, as the saying went, it was much easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. He did not want to suffer her censure now, if he told her about his plan and it ended up that he would have to carry through with the last step of it.

He kissed her on the mouth, and this time, he parted her lips with his tongue. This one would have to last them for a while. She gave him her tongue on return, likely thinking the same thing, and he held her close for a moment. Then he broke the kiss and stood away from her.

"The next time you see me, I will be the Sheikh, and I will do what I have to do to get that Tablet," Cas said quietly.

Gail recognized what he was doing now. It was the same thing he had done when he had been about to go to Purgatory. He was detaching.

"All right, Sheikh," she said. "I'll send Tommy out to see you, then." She looked at his face once more, and then she winked herself back into the bunker.

Bobby had already arrived, and he came outside with Tommy. Once Cas's human friend had put him on the plane in Washington, Bobby would wink Tommy back here. Then the rest of them could travel to Egypt, the Angel way. How ironic that the humans would be transported by their Angel friends instantaneously, but the longest-serving Angel of them all would have to go the long, laborious human way. But that was by design. Tommy was going to report on Cas's departure for Egypt as a human-interest story. The last known surviving member of King Tut's royal family, heading back to his homeland for the opening of the additional, newly discovered chambers of his ancestor's gravesite. If there were any human remains that were discovered, they would belong to his family, not the Egyptian government, he was going to argue. So, he had a right to be there at the dig site. At least, that was the story that Tommy was going to post, and he had made arrangements with a couple of his contacts at the other end to report on Cas's arrival in his private plane on the other end. They were going to interview him regarding his expectations once he got to the tomb, and they were going to make sure that his arrival in Egypt made the headlines.

They had enough facts on their side to make the story seem plausible, but now that Cas had his backup plan in place, he felt much more confident. If they would not take his word that he was born of the royal family, he would have to prove it to them by invoking one of the oldest curses in recorded history. And then, if they still would not open the chamber for him, he would put that curse into motion. Castiel only hoped that it would not come to that.